Brief Vita

• Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2024 – present)
• Nathan Isgur Fellow, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab), Newport News, Virginia (2020 – 2023)
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (2019 – 2020)
• PhD, Physics, University of Virginia (2018)
• BS, Physics, Hue University, VietNam (2010)

Selected Honors

• UT Graduate Physics Society Research Advisor of the Year (2025)
• Nathan Isgur Fellowship for Experimental Nuclear Physics at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
• Jefferson Science Associates (JSA) Graduate Fellowship

Research Areas

I am an experimental nuclear physicist specializing in using high-energy electron probes to explore nucleon (proton or neutron) and nuclear structures. These structures are determined by how nucleons interact within the nucleus and the interplay between quarks and gluons within the nucleon. These studies contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental properties of strong interactions described by QCD. I have conducted my program at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab), focusing on investigating A=3 nuclei, like 3He and 3H, which offer a unique opportunity for precision testing of strong interaction models. My research interest includes the study of the origin of nucleon spin, particularly in neutron spin structures using polarized 3He. Another crucial aspect of my research involves the study of nucleon interaction at very short distances and its implication for broader scientific fields. In parallel with the physics program, I am actively engaged in the research and development of a new polarized 3He target that can operate high magnetic fields. This ongoing development is a crucial factor for upcoming polarization measurements for nucleon spin study using a 3He target at Jefferson Lab. In addition, I am also advancing my neutron spin program to EIC where I can do a new measurement called double spectator to gain new insight into the origin of nucleon spin.

For Prospective Students

My research program at JLab is currently in an active phase with an experiment scheduled to run in Sep 2024. This experiment focuses on the study of nucleon-nucleon interaction at short distances and their nucleon’s modification inside nuclei. This will present a great opportunity to participate to gain hands-on experience in various aspects including working with different detectors, electronics, data acquisition, and engaging in big data analysis for PhD theses. Ongoing target research and development also provide unique opportunities to learn polarizing target techniques. This project also offers an opportunity to gain expertise in different laser systems, programming, and communication with different devices. I am actively seeking PhD students to join my research team. If you are interested in these research areas, please feel free to reach out to me through email or visit my office to further discussion.

Selected Publications

• X.Li, J.D. Maxwell, D. Nguyen, et al. “Metastability exchange optical pumping of 3He at low pressure and high magnetic field,” NIM-A (2023)
• D. Nguyen, et al. “Search for a bound di-neutron by comparing 3He(e,e’p)d and 3H(e, e’p)X,” Phys. Lett. B 831 (2022)
• I. Friscic*, D. Nguyen*, et al. “Neutron Spin structure from e-3He with Double SpectatorTagging at the EIC,” Phys. Lett. B 823 (2021)
• R. Cruz-Torres*, D. Nguyen*, et al. (Jefferson Lab Hall A Tritium Collaboration): “Probing Few-body Nuclear Dynamics via 3H and 3He (e,e′p)pm Cross-Section Measurements,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 212501 (2020) (Published as and Editor’s suggestion.)
• D. Nguyen, et al. (Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration): “Novel observation of isospinstructure of short-range correlations in Calcium isotopes,” Phys. Rev. C 102, 064004 (2020)
• R. Cruz-Torres, S. Li, F. Hauenstein, A. Schmidt, D. Nguyen, et al. (Jefferson Lab Hall A Tritium Collaboration): “Comparing proton momentum distribution in A = 2 and 3 nuclei via 2 H 3He and 3H(e, e′p) measurements,” Phys. Lett. B 797 (2019)
• H. Dai, M. Murphy, V. Pandey, D. Abrams, D. Nguyen et al. (Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration): “First measurement of the Ti(e,e′)X cross-section at Jefferson Lab” Phys. Rev. C 98, 014617 (2018)
• Z. Ye, P. Solvignon, D. Nguyen et al. (Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration): “Search for three-nucleon short-range correlations in light nuclei,” Phys. Rev. C 97, 065204 (2018)

Please check my Google Scholar for the full publication list.